whats a fair price...?

saw a posting on a local community board about someone moving from SF-NYC and having space in their u-haul.

Al and I figured it'd be a good way to get rid of some of our stuff, so we don't have to move it all later (we only want to rent one of the u-haul trailers for the cross-country drive).

So my question to you is: what is a fair price to pay for her to take some boxes, maybe 10? We'll have Al's brother pick them up from her in NYC.

Also, how do we safeguard ourselves from her disappearing with our stuff? (we're not sending anything too valuable, but it'd be a pain if it disappeared)

Wow... that's a very good question, especially how to make sure your posessions don't disappear on their way to NY.

Maybe you can have an itemized list of your belongings that she is transporting notorized and signed by both you and the driver??

thats what we'll wind up doing if this doesn't work out. We're weighing the pros and cons now.

Actually, mailing books is really cheap because you can send them as 'media mail'. Its all Al's tools that weigh a ton and take up a lot of space that are problematic.

I haven't talked to this lady yet, so that would also determine my comfort level...

Just my opinion, but unless you know this women or you feel really comfortable with her...i would not turn over my possessions to her. There really is no real way to ensure that she doesnt disappear with your belongings. And the worry alone that she might, would not be what you might save by using her space.

If you really feel like you can trust her, I would find out what it would cost to ship UPS and then offer 50-75% of that. If she wanted more, it would not be worth the hassle of having to drop off/pick up, etc.

Good luck!

Hope you can make it to one of the NW GTGs when you get back. I would love to meet you

Thanks lovelies

I'm questioning whether this is really worth the risk...and leaning towards it being more hassle than its worth.

Stef, I'll definitely be at some NW GTGs